A CASH and carry unit in a quiet Nantwich cul-de-sac was the secret base for a £1 million drugs smuggling scam.

A CASH and carry unit in a quiet Nantwich cul-de-sac was the secret base for a £1 million drugs smuggling scam.

On the face of it the company sold terracotta plant pots and other fancy goods, but a swoop by police and Customs and Excise officers led to the recovery of more than 300 kilos of cannabis and 45,000 ecstasy tablets, with a street value of between £700,000 and £1 million.

The raid was on a unit at Cheerbrook Farm, off Newcastle Road, Willaston, which turned out to be a distribution centre for drugs smuggled into England from Belgium.

Chris Threadgold, who owns the unit and now leases it out as a motorcycle repair workshop, said he was amazed when he discovered what was going on.

He said: 'I used to see the blokes loading pots and glasses and other bits of fancy goods on to vehicles and I thought they were just selling things on. Like everyone else I was amazed when it came out what was really happening.'

The raid was carried out in February and this week four men were jailed when they pleaded guilty at Chester Crown Court.

Alan McCulloch, 37, from Liverpool was jailed 12 years for conspiracy to import a Class A drug, ecstasy, and cannabis; David Boiling, 28, from Wrexham, was given four years; and Christopher Natt, 41, also from Wrexham, and Jason Allen, 30, from Liverpool, were each jailed for five years, all for conspiracy to import cannabis.

The investigation was prompted by a Customs and Excise discovery at Hull Docks of a consignment of drugs being sent from Antwerp to a Willaston address.

They found 600 vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis and 10 bags of ecstasy tablets hidden in terracotta plant pots.

Police removed the drugs from a van and then drove it to the Willaston unit where Boiling was arrested on the spot.

Police found there had been numerous earlier consignments from Antwerp.

Two men have also been arrested in Belgium.

After the case Detective Inspector Andy Marsden said: 'This operation was a major success which has had a real impact on the availability and distribution of drugs in the North West.

'Police and Customs officers worked side by side throughout the inquiry and will continue to do so in our determination to stamp out the drugs trade.'